Wealth Blog

No Oscar? Have a lollipop

Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Sandra Bullock may not have come home with Oscar statuettes Sunday night, but as nominees, they still won a hefty gift bag of Oscar swag.

Bags containing 50 gifts valued at more than $85,000 -- from the weird to the fantastic -- were given to nominees by Distinctive Assets.

She may not have won an Oscar Sunday night, but Sandra Bullock still got to take home some organic maple syrup and a voucher for a stay in Hawaii.

A company spokesperson told Business Insider that the bag's contents are worth double what they were a year ago: "This year we had so many vendors approach the team at Distinctive Assets, wanting to be a part of the gift bag. There are also several luxury items included, which really boost up the value."

From Vegas vacation to herbal lollipops

The lower-priced gifts include a DrainWig, worth $6.49, that keeps hair from clogging the shower drain. The most expensive gift is a $16,000 voucher for a hair transplant, in the event that hair-clogged drains are no longer a worry.

This being Hollywood, of course a lot of the products and vouchers go along with keeping up appearances of youth and vitality. They include a home spa system for $2,560, organic makeup and something called an "O-Shot" procedure for $2,700 that will stimulate a woman's sex drive.

There are also vouchers for trips, including a walking tour of Japan worth $15,000, a trip to Vegas, valued at $9,000 and a five-night stay in a Hawaiian resort, worth $2,000.

Plenty of food items made it into the bag, such as weight-loss gummies, protein bars and shakes from Hydroxycut, herbal tea-infused lollipops and organic maple syrup. There are even electrolyte supplements for pets, as part of a package of supplies worth $1,571.98.

Traditional gifts include leather purses and iPhone cases, shoes, a watch and a portable camera. And one of the gifts, a pink mace gun, will come in handy if anyone tries to steal the goodies.

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8 Comments

Lonny Seitz

March 03, 2014 at 9:38 pm

Do the recipients have to pay federal income tax for these gifts?

Richard Dessauer

March 03, 2014 at 7:23 pm

Oh Boy, one more thing to add to the list of appalling things. Can't say much more than the comments already have. It's sad. It's America. It's capitalism of the worst kind.

Ammittai

March 03, 2014 at 6:52 pm

First off, these bags are not demanded by the celebs and many of them give the bags to charity. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at the companies who are giving these things away in the hopes that they can tag their items with the claim that celebs have used them.

Pat

March 03, 2014 at 6:17 pm

Remember there is no free lunch. There is always an ulterior motive...

Robert Dora

March 03, 2014 at 6:05 pm

I don't think this is exactly how it appears. For example, take the $2000, five-night stay at a resort in Hawaii. This is either a regular room in a nice resort, or a suite in a not-so-nice resort. In either case, the resort owner is giving the "gift" so that he can then say, "Brad Pitt stays here!" This is worth far more to him than the cost of the gift to Brad Pitt. If it is not a nice resort, Brad won't go. If it is a nice resort, Brad might go, but would probably upgrade to a suite, so the owner may actually get some revenue from Brad. Either way, he will deduct the cost as a business expense. The gift will also have a requirement for an advance reservation, so the resort will be giving Brad a room that might have been empty anyway.
Chances are, Brad already has a favorite place and will go there instead.

John Cooner

March 03, 2014 at 6:02 pm

I'm not impressed by these people. Until they can turn water into wine, walk on water and do the miracles that Jesus can do, they are just people like anyone else.

Stephanie

March 03, 2014 at 5:48 pm

Not sure I understand, these companies give these items to the people who can afford to buy them and then wonder why the bottom line is getting lower and lower. Everyday Americans cannot afford this things that they give away to the people who can. I just don't understand. I love Actors and Actress, Love movies and TV , I am not hating on anyone just confused how things work. Instead of all this waste why not put it to good use for the people who can afford this bc they give their lives for the greater good why no donate them or the cost of these bags to a charity that would bring a little hope to someone that does not have anymore left

crazytown

March 03, 2014 at 4:45 pm

Yes, these celebs who speak out against income inequality receive 85,000 worth of gifts. The whole business is hypocritical.

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